Bite Me - Australian Spiders and Creepy Crawlies

One of the most off-putting factors about moving abroad to Australia, visiting Australia or generally relocating overseas in that part of the world for many is the presence of spiders. Here are the facts: Yes, some of them are big. Big and crawly. Yes, some of them are poisonous. However, no one has died from a spider bite in Australia for over 30 years. So if you can get past the size thing, you’ll be fine. Having said that, make sure you don’t get on the wrong side of a Funnel Web spider because it’s one of the deadliest spiders in the world. If you suspect you've been bitten by one of the forty different species of Funnel Web spider, make a quick dash to A&E. Signs that you’ve been bitten by a Funnel Web Spider are…well, they’re unpleasant so we won’t post them here. Just do the A&E thing and get some antivenom down you.

Unless you’re Bear Grylls or some other alpha male show-off with a TV show, a Black Widow spider will leave you alone. If you tinker with its nest or provoke it in any way, it will bite you on the hand. From then on, you better put your affairs in order and delete your browser history because you’re not going to be around for long. Or get some antivenom. Actually, do that first.

Although arachnids have not been responsible for any fatalities in Australia for decades, snakes remain a deadly menace, and it’s these unforgiving inhabitants you need to be most wary of. Australia is home to 7 species of the 10 most poisonous snakes in the world. Among the most feared are the Eastern Brown snake, the Australian Tiger snake and the not-at-all-misleadingly named ‘Death Adder’.

Then there’s the jack jumper ant. To put it bluntly, these things are vicious little b*****s. They’re venomous, scavenging carnivores and are responsible for more deaths in Tasmania than sharks, snakes, wasps and spiders combined.

For more information about Australian spiders and other deadly (and frankly, unlikeable) creepy crawlies, these links are quite handy:

http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian_spiders.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/11585526/Lethal-Ants-of-Australia

And we haven’t even touched on the enemies lurking in the surrounding seas. But that’s for another blog. In the meantime don't forget we can handle shipping to Australia for your excess baggage and all kinds of other stuff. It's what we're here for, after all.

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